Turf not playable: sports club has to postpone stadium opening

“We would have liked to allow the fans to return to the Alszeile at Easter. We tried everything to meet the deadline. However, a final expert report showed that the track will not be fully resilient until mid-April in order to ensure that the rooting will be sufficient. Unfortunately, this meant that a final release of the turf was not possible,” explains Section leader David Krapf-Günther.

Hackers on vacation

In the office of Sportstadrat Peter Hacker (SPÖ) Although one regrets the installation, one points to experts who recommend “an appropriate grace period for optimal rooting” when it comes to lawns. City Councilor Hacker’s upcoming vacation has nothing to do with the relocation.

Bitter for the sports club: Due to the two-week delay, the club will lose four home games in the new stadium. The interest was and is great, one could have expected a lot of spectators and could probably even have sold out the stadium (5,622 spectators). There is no income. And even worse: now you have to look for alternative options again. Of course they cost.

200,000 euros in sales

You lose a turnover of up to 50,000 euros per game and make 200,000 euros in four games. In addition, there are the costs for the alternative places. The games on April 3rd and 10th can be played at the WFV facility in Hirschstetten. Here you don’t pay rent, but you also have no income (restaurants, etc.). They want to find a solution for the other two games against Retz and Parndorf in the next few days. Ideally, the two games can be postponed and played in the new stadium. If not, you have to rent somewhere.

What does the future timetable look like? If it is clarified in the next few days where and when the four affected games will take place, the subscription sales that fans have been longing for can begin. The stadium will be handed over on March 26th and the sports club can then move in. The opening will (finally) take place on April 17th. Before that, the lease agreement with the city of Vienna will be signed. There is agreement here, but various committee decisions are still missing.

Work on the 22 million euro project has been underway in Hernals since October 2024. Parts are completely new, others have been renovated.